On Elections, beware of good intentions with bad consequences. Harris County sent applications for ballot-by-mail to all residents age 65 or older, regardless of whether they had requested one. While its intentions might have been to keep senior citizens safe, its actions will cause more harm than good. An unsolicited ballot in the mailbox could...
The determining factors to voter turnout are enthusiasm and trust in free and fair elections. Enthusiasm comes from the candidate and the campaign and from the citizenry’s concerns and convictions. Turnout is also influenced or disincentivized by difficulties accessing the polls and when there is a confusing elections administrative process, including delays in results or...
There’s been a yearslong political fight over the issue of mail-in ballots in Texas. This struggle has taken on a new intensity in the wake of the coronavirus from China and the feeling that Texas’ shift from red, if not to blue then at least purple, is one election cycle away. Texas law on mail-in...
There has been a lot of controversy over a change in the rules that govern the operation of the House of Representatives. The majority party has opted to allow proxy voting, placing the votes of most of the members of what is euphemistically referred to as “the people’s house” in the hands of a select...
With the coronavirus still infecting and killing people, particularly the old and infirm, there have been increasing calls to move America to an all-mail-in ballot for this November’s election. This campaign is being advanced through legislation — the economic recovery package the House passed two weeks ago dubbed the HEROES Act, which would allocate $3.6 billion...
Four Justices on the Texas Supreme Court just fired a shot across the bow of government officials continuing draconian COVID-19 restrictions in Texas. In a concurring opinion, Justices Blacklock, Guzman, Boyd, and Devine reminded everyone that the “Constitution is not suspended when the government declares a state of disaster.” “As more becomes known about the...
These are unprecedented times with COVID-19, but we owe it to Texas to ensure that the cure isn’t worse than the disease with calls to expand mail-in balloting. We must ensure the integrity of one of our most essential rights as citizens—voting in free and fair elections. Because of the risks, including inaccurate rolls, vulnerability...
Texas Democrats have a cure-all for our worries about in-person voting in upcoming elections. They want to expand mail-in balloting to include every Texan. Republicans who point to problems with the plan are said to be trying to suppress the vote, or are callously indifferent. “Voters should not have to choose between their lives or...
During my reelection campaign for Congress in 2012, I traveled throughout my expansive district and knocked on many doors. Some people I met responded, “I’m sorry, I’m not a citizen so I don’t vote.” This was puzzling since I was knocking on their door precisely because their name was on a voter registration list provided...